{"id":"F2007B01050","name":"Payment Systems and Netting Act 1998 - Approval of the Austraclear System as an approved RTGS system (19/02/1999)","slug":"payment-systems-and-netting-act-1998-approval-of-the-austraclear-system-as-an-approved-rtgs-system-1","collection":"legislative_instrument","jurisdiction":"commonwealth","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":null,"makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":62530,"registerId":"commonwealth-F2007B01050-current","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-04-02","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"Payment Systems and Netting Act 1998 - Approval of the Austraclear System as an approved RTGS system (19/02/1999)","content":"19 February 1999\n\nMr John Hall  \nManaging Director  \nAustraclear Limited  \nGPO Box 4606  \nSYDNEY NSW 2001\n\nDear Mr Hall,\n\nPAYMENT SYSTEMS AND NETTING ACT 1998 -  \nAPPLICATION FOR APPROVAL OF RTGS SYSTEM\n\nI refer to your application of 27 July 1998 for approval of the Austraclear System as an “approved RTGS system” in terms of the Payment Systems and Netting Act 1998. I also note the subsequent exchange of letters between the Bank and Austraclear in which Austraclear agreed that it will notify the Bank should one of its participants enter external administration.\n\nI am pleased to inform you that, under section 9 of the Act, the Payments System Board of the Reserve Bank has declared the Austraclear System operated by Austraclear Limited to be an approved RTGS system for the purposes of the Act.\n\nThis approval is a disallowable instrument under section 46A of the Acts Interpretation Act 1901 and, accordingly, is being tabled before each House of the Commonwealth Parliament for a period of 15 sitting days. Subject to disallowance, the approval will take effect from the date of this letter.\n\nThis approval may be reviewed from time to time.\n\nYours sincerely,\n\nIJ Macfarlane  \nGovernor\n\nReserve Bank of Australia","sortOrder":0}],"analysis":{"kimi_summary":{"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":2,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"This is a discrete administrative approval made under existing statutory authority. It does not alter the scope of the underlying Payment Systems and Netting Act 1998; rather, it exercises a power conferred by that Act to designate specific payment systems for legal protection. The scope remains exactly as intended by the original legislation."},"complexity_factors":["Single administrative decision contained in a brief letter (approximately 200 words)","Only one substantive statutory reference (section 9 of the Payment Systems and Netting Act 1998)","One procedural reference to the Acts Interpretation Act 1901 (section 46A regarding disallowable instruments)","No defined terms, schedules, or technical operational rules in the document itself","Simple conditional structure: approval granted subject to standard parliamentary disallowance procedure and ongoing notification obligation"],"plain_english_summary":"The Governor of the Reserve Bank has approved Austraclear’s electronic settlement system as an “approved RTGS system” under the Payment Systems and Netting Act, granting its real‑time, final settlement and netting arrangements legal protection. This affects Austraclear participants by safeguarding netting against disruption if a participant becomes insolvent, reducing cherry‑picking risks to financial stability.\n\nThe approval can be disallowed by either House within 15 sitting days and requires Austraclear to notify the RBA if any participant enters external administration."},"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":3,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"This instrument applies an existing statutory power (s.9) to declare the Austraclear System an approved RTGS system; it does not, on its face, expand or narrow the Act’s statutory scope. The approval is procedural and subject to parliamentary disallowance (s.46A, Acts Interpretation Act 1901) and to future review. Who decides: the Payments System Board (s.9). Who pays: no fees or costs are specified in the letter. Behaviour change required: Austraclear must notify the Bank if a participant enters external administration (per Austraclear’s agreement recorded in the letter)."},"complexity_factors":["Statutory approval power invoked: decision issued under section 9 of the Payment Systems and Netting Act 1998 (explicit statutory grant of authority).","Parliamentary oversight: the approval is a disallowable instrument under section 46A of the Acts Interpretation Act 1901 and is tabled for 15 sitting days (creates potential for retrospective disallowance).","Limited implementation detail in source text: the instrument records the approval but does not list operational obligations or transitional requirements for participants (low informational complexity but higher legal reliance on the underlying Act).","Administrative cooperation requirement: Austraclear’s agreement to notify the Bank if a participant enters external administration introduces a specific compliance step and information flow to the Bank.","Discretion and reviewability: the letter notes the approval may be reviewed from time to time (ongoing regulatory discretion).","Affected parties are concentrated and identifiable: Austraclear Limited and its participants; practical compliance burdens are likely small based on the document alone."],"plain_english_summary":"The Reserve Bank's Payments System Board has declared Austraclear Limited’s Austraclear System to be an \"approved RTGS system\" under the Payment Systems and Netting Act 1998. That formal declaration brings the Austraclear System into the Act’s regulatory framework and is tabled before Parliament as a disallowable instrument. Austraclear also agreed to notify the Bank if any participant enters external administration. The approval takes effect from the date of the letter unless Parliament disallows it and may be reviewed later."}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/payment-systems-and-netting-act-1998-approval-of-the-austraclear-system-as-an-approved-rtgs-system-1","history":"/api/acts/payment-systems-and-netting-act-1998-approval-of-the-austraclear-system-as-an-approved-rtgs-system-1/history","analysis":"/api/acts/payment-systems-and-netting-act-1998-approval-of-the-austraclear-system-as-an-approved-rtgs-system-1/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/payment-systems-and-netting-act-1998-approval-of-the-austraclear-system-as-an-approved-rtgs-system-1/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/payment-systems-and-netting-act-1998-approval-of-the-austraclear-system-as-an-approved-rtgs-system-1/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/payment-systems-and-netting-act-1998-approval-of-the-austraclear-system-as-an-approved-rtgs-system-1/documents"}}